Away
by nikki-of-stormhold
Summary: Lucinda is in grave danger, until she is rescued by Darren. However, it is not long until Lucinda realizes that Darren is not who he seems to be.
1. Chapter 1

**Away**

Disclaimer: What is a disclaimer anyway? Everyone knows I don't own Darren Shan or 'Solitude' by Evanescence. And for those who don't know, I don't own them.

**This is something that came to me when I was supposed to be revising history. I suppose I see things in textbooks that others don't. It features two characters of my own. This is my first attempt at writing a love story- I've tried before but they end up being hilarious and completely not serious.**

For several reasons the park was perfect. Firstly it was empty- no people meant no bother or confrontations. It was quiet, nothing to interrupt or annoy. It was outside, so there were no walls to stare at or enclose. Just bushes, trees and wide open spaces waiting for someone to occupy them. Lucinda was waiting for someone too. James was never late, and if he was he rang her so she wouldn't be worried. Although, of late he had been…. Different. Distracted. James Macallen was Lucinda's best friend and had been for as far back as she could remember. In fact he was everything. Her friend, her family, her world. Having no-one and nothing would have been a lot worse without him. Her family, if indeed she had any had never been mentioned to her by anyone, least of all the people at the home she had been raised in. Although there must have been somebody because girls such as herself did not attend first class boarding schools like St. Georges free of charge. That had always puzzled her. It didn't matter anyway, because she had James. For seventeen years she had always had James and there was no one else in the world that she wanted. That was why she was so worried. Stopping the swing she sat in she looked around the park, squinting in the bright afternoon sun. Spotting the huge old oak tree she and her best friend had fallen out of many times, she sighed. There he was, standing underneath. He had been watching her all along, leaning against the park railings in that arrogant way. She smiled in his direction, but couldn't really see him with the sun in her eyes.

"James?"

He didn't answer, but stayed very still. She frowned. He had developed a strange attitude of late, he was quiet, and somehow….angry.

"James, are you ok?" She got up and began to walk towards him, so she could speak to him without having to squint or raise her voice. It was quite a way between the swings and the railings, and she still couldn't see James properly.

"James, you seem different at the moment. Are you sure you're…."

She stopped abruptly. The overhead branches of the oak tree provided enough shade for her to see that it was not James that had been watching her.

"Hey Lucy, you ok?"

Lucinda was strangely relieved to hear James's voice behind her, and even more so when he bounded up behind her and grabbed her shoulders. But….she couldn't take her eyes away. He was still staring at her, leaning in the same position. James stood still.

"Who's your friend?" he asked happily.

Lucy was silent. She shook her head and backed away. James's expression changed.

"Luce, what's up? Did he upset you? Who is he?"

"I…I don't …"

James grabbed Lucinda and turned her to face him.

"I don't know him James; I just…thought he was you."

James frowned.

"You're all shaken up! What's the matter?"

"I was just worried 'cos you were late, that's all."

James seemed satisfied and let her go. He steered her away from the railings and they began to walk away.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Mr Kennedy kept me in. Wants me to play hockey on Saturday against that prep school……"

Lucinda turned as she walked, nodding at everything her friend said. Looking back to the tree she shivered. The guy had backed up a few paces, and now there was a strange smile in his cool grey eyes. He backed up casually and suddenly she couldn't see him anymore.

"Lucy?" She felt James's hand on her forehead.

"You sure you're ok? You look a little delirious." His thick Scottish accent was laced with concern as he studied her face.

"Seriously James I'm fine. Let's just go home…."

They began to walk again, this time in silence as Lucinda thought. Why had he had such an impact? Even now she could still feel his piercing eyes watching her.

"Luce, I have something to tell you."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Lucinda rubbed her arms as she sat on the bed, staring out of the window of her room at St. Georges boarding school. It was cold in there, especially after what James had just told her. It may be a beautiful sunny evening outside, but her world was black.

"When?" she croaked.

James stood up.

"Tommorrow."

He started to walk towards her.

"Luce, I'm sorry. It's just for the summer. It's just….I may never get a chance like this again."

"It's ok James, I understand."

He nodded and sat down next to her.

"You can still go though. The cottage is still yours for the summer. Take someone else…"

"Who?"

Lucinda was trying to be strong but was failing miserably.

"I don't have anyone else."

"I…..I don't know what to say…" James looked away, his face full of guilt.

She snapped.

"How about bye Lucy, see ya in a few months, and enjoy your summer all by yourself."

She jumped to her feet and raised her voice.

"Go on, Lord James Macallen! Go! Go and treat the rest of the world like your sort do! We're only people, aren't we? What the hell do we matter? What does seventeen years mean?"

James buried his face in his hands.

"Lucy I hate this too."

"THEN WHY THE HELL ARE YOU GOING?"

"Because I may not be able to again!" He stood up and walked towards her, his dark hair falling into his eyes.

"Just….tell me one thing. If you knew you would be going off like this, why did you make sure I didn't have anyone else? You made us stay cooped up in your parent's estate, rather than here where I could have had friends. Now I have no-one."

James sighed.

"Because I'm selfish. I didn't want to share you."

Lucinda nodded, unable to speak. Her vision was blurred- tears that wouldn't fall.

"Go." She whispered.

"What?"

"You go. And…..don't look back."

James's face creased with sadness and he took Lucinda's arm.

"You….I can't leave….."

Lucinda looked up at him coldly.

"You already did."

She moved away slowly, staring at him with empty eyes. The door seemed to open by itself- she couldn't feel anything.

"Lucy, please don't leave like this…"

She stared at him for a second longer, then turned slowly. The door closed behind her, but it wasn't long before James opened it again.

"Lucy?"

He strode out into the hallway and looked all around him.

She was gone.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Lucinda felt very small as she wrapped herself in a black shawl and looked up at the huge medieval building that had been her home for so much of her life. Most kids hated school, but it was her home. The wind was blowing hard, and her long black hair was flying all around her pale face. The sky was alight with a huge full moon, bathing the old English countryside in a surreal light. The sea roared under the cliffs, sending ocean spray across the playing field. Seeing James appear at the window, Lucinda closed her eyes and turned away from the school. Then she ran. It wasn't long before heavy rain began to fall, making her pathway muddy and all together treacherous. The cliffs loomed beneath her, and the bare trees that lined their tops grabbed and clawed at her. Suddenly a huge bolt of lightning split the sky with an almighty cracking sound. Lucinda screamed, as her path descended and she slipped. Her fall seemed to last forever, until she realized that she was holding onto a tree root, dangling over the edge of a perilous cliff. She screamed, but there was no one there to hear it. Her shawl slipped from around her shoulders and blew away over the sea, leaving her hanging. She tried not to move but her arms were growing weak. She didn't have long left. Then a hand appeared. She stared at it, squinting through the rain, wind and fear. Looking into a pair of icy grey eyes, she let go of the root and slid down a little further. But Lucinda did not scream, and as the strong arms hauled her up she rolled over and lay on her back, looking at the sky from her clifftop. The moon had never looked so beautiful.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Lucinda was not really aware of much after that, except from the fact that the strong arms holding her did so for a long time. When she woke, her first impulse was to call out for James. But James wasn't there. It was someone else.

"You're awake."

She turned in the direction of the voice, realizing that she was lying in a bed- not her own.

"Where am I?"

"You are safe."

She studied the speaker. It was him. She sat up quickly, pulling the soft quilt with her.

"You!"

He smiled. His deep grey eyes twinkled slightly as his dark hair fell across them. He sat in an arm chair, near a window. The sleeves of his black jacket were rolled up, revealing the same strong muscular arms that had saved her from falling to her death.

"Who are you?"

He looked sad, disappointed.

"A friend."

Lucinda noticed that he was clutching a white towel to his torso, as sticky blood seeped through his jacket.

"You're hurt." She said.

"So are you. There's one thing we have in common." His voice was quiet.

"Yeah, but I'm not dead, so call it a bonus." She swung herself out of bed and went to the window.

"You have some explaining to do."

Her breath caught in her throat as she was pulled away from the window and stumbled back onto the bed.

She looked up at him angrily but he still stood at the window.

"What the hell…."

"Don't stand next to windows, it's not safe." He looked around. "I'm sorry if I hurt you, I didn't mean to."

She sat up and softened her gaze.

"Look, none of this makes any sense to me, and I don't know what to do."

He strode over to her slowly, removing the towel from his abdomen and wincing.

"You can do what you like, just don't be scared." He sat down next to her and watched her intently.

"I'm not." Lucinda knew she should have been, and normally would have been. But….

"Do I at least get to know you name?"

He laughed softly, still clutching his side.

"Darren Shan."

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How many times have you told me you love her?  
As many times as I wanted to tell you the truth.  
How long have I stood here beside you?  
I lived through you, you looked through me.

Ooo, Solitude  
Still with me is only you  
Ooo, Solitude  
I can't stay away from you

How many times have I done this to myself?   
How long will it take before I see?  
When will this hole in my heart be mended?  
Who now is left alone but me?

Ooo, Solitude  
Forever me and forever you  
Ooo, Solitude  
Only you, Only true

Everyone leaves me stranded,  
forgotten, abandoned  
left behind.  
I can't stay her another night

Your secret admirer, who could it be?

Can't you you see all along it was me?  
How can you be so blind as to see right through me? 

Solitude  
Still with me is only you  
Ooo, solitude  
I can't stay away from you

Solitude  
Forever me and forever you  
Ooo, Solitude  
Only you, Only true

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

**So how was it? Please let me know so I don't continue it and look like a mahousive fool……**

**Thanks for reading,**

**X x x x x x x x x x**

**Ps, work out who's point of view the song is coming from.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

**Thank you to those of you who read this. Happy.**

Lucy spent most of that day in the small room she had woken up in. She didn't talk much- Darren did most of that. What she heard she had trouble believing. Her world had just caved in around her, and she felt nothing.

"There's something wrong with me," she whispered.

Darren looked at her questioningly.

"I don't feel…… I don't hate……" She stood up and stood aside from the window, behind the curtain. Darren had bandaged his wound and explained how he'd gotten it- fighting of strange creatures known as the 'Vampaneze.'

"I know how you are feeling. I lost a friend of mine to the dark, he did this." He pointed to his side. "And still I couldn't kill him."

Lucinda narrowed her eyes.

"Why does he hate you? Why did he hurt you?"

Darren sighed.

"I still have a lot to explain Lucinda. He just…. fell. He fell like you did and lost everything. Took me with him. And all I ever wanted to do was help him, like James."

She winced at the mention of James. It stirred something within her, something strange.

"Is it him, the one who stabbed you. Is it him who's after us?"

Darren sat very still for a moment. His face changed as he tried to deal with the difficult question.

"No. No it's not him."

"Well who then? Or won't I know them?"

Darren decided that Lucinda had had enough to deal with for one day.

"I will explain as much as I can soon. But right now there are some things we need to do."

"So I can stay with you? Only I have no-one else, and I can't go back. And you….. I just feel _right_ with you."

Darren smiled.

"Good. But listen to me Lucinda. You must choose now. This minute. If you come with me now, you can never go back. From now on you are with me."

There was a pause. She looked out of the window at the quiet street below. She saw James, sitting on the bed, telling her he was leaving her, she'd be alone. She saw the cold grey eyes, staring down at her as she was hauled up and saved from death. She saw her new life, who she was.

"I'm with you."

A muscled twitched in Darren's cheek. He stood up heavily and went to the door.

"I have to go somewhere. You can come or you can stay here. You will always be free to make your own choices."

She smiled. This was new. James had always called the shots before.

"I'll come. Where are we going?"

Darren led her down several flights of stairs, and into a dark street outside of the shabby building which appeared to be a hotel.

"We are going to meet someone. A friend of mine, and yours too, now."

They walked for a while in silence, staying mostly in the back streets. As they came to a corner Darren held Lucinda back, signaling for her to be very quiet. When he was satisfied that they were safe, he led her out into the main street.

"So tell me about James."

Lucinda took a deep breath.

"He's Scottish. A lord in fact. His parents own like half of Scotland, but pack him off to boarding school so he's not in their way. They don't get on that well. But he's due the inheritance."

Darren smiled.

"A lord."

They came to a large house, with a long path leading up to it. Darren looked around them and started up the path towards the front door.

"If only he knew what that will come to mean."

"I don't understand."

"There are certain duties that come with being a lord. Some of them are impossible to hide from, and they consume you."

He stopped in front of the door and knocked on it twice. After a short pause it opened and they were ushered inside.

Lucinda did not have much time to look around her as she was half dragged into a large Edwardian style dining room. There were crystals hanging from the lights, casting light patterns all over the bare walls. Heavy curtains kept the room from any light outside, and a large armchair stood in one corner. In it sat an older looking man, with black hair. Everything about him was black, from his clothes to his gaze. He surveyed Lucinda with slightly downcast eyes, piercing her as Darren's eyes had done on their first meeting under the tree.

"Mika. Lucinda, this is Mika Ver Leth. He is a vampire prince, like me."

Lucinda took a few steps further into the room.

"Why are you sitting in the dark?" she asked.

"These are dark times my dear." His voice was low and cool. He was a friend, she knew that.

Darren strode around the room, and leaned against the fireplace.

"Mika, you agree with this?"

The prince cleared his throat and stood up, his hands clasped in front of him.

"Does your friend agree to this?"

Lucinda looked up. The room was dark and it was difficult to see.

"Me? Agree to what?"

"Yes she does. She is with me now."

Lucinda nodded.

"It's true, but agree to what?" she gasped as her arms were clamped behind her back, and she was held steady. A woman entered the room, dressed completely in black like Mika.

"Darren? I can't move!"

"Don't try. Just keep still."

Lucinda struggled against the strong arms holding her.

"What? Let me go!"

Darren stood in front of her, revealing that it was Mika that was holding her.

"Do you trust me?"

She saw his eyes once more as he saved her from falling.

"Yes."

"Then relax."

She did her best, as the woman replaced Darren in front of her.

"Give me your right hand my dear." Her voice was husky, an arm protruded form her cloak, covered by a long glove.

Lucinda felt Mika's grip on her right hand release, and she drew it in front of her.

The woman held out a knife, as Darren held out his left hand.

"Lucinda, this is Evanna. She is a sorceress," Darren said quietly.

Evanna held Darren's hand in one of hers, and Lucinda's in the other. The knife appeared to be levitating, above their hands. She held them flat, their palms facing upwards.

Lucinda gasped as the knife drew across her palm, then across Darren's. Evanna clasped them both together tightly as blood began to drip down their arms.

"You will always be with me Lucinda, I will always find you."

The room seemed to swirl around Lucinda, falling down around her. Darren was now a part of her, and she of him. They were united. She felt herself fall and Mika caught her, lowering her gently to the floor. Darren knelt down too, and Evanna sheathed the knife.

"Don't be scared."

"I'm not." Lucinda sat up, feeling something very new inside of her. Something strong.

Mika went to the fire place and stood with his back to them.

"It has worked. You are tied."

Evanna bowed deeply.

"You are one of us. Stay with Darren always. And find me should you need me." With that she disappeared.

"I think I know now, what this is all about."

"You will know much more soon." Darren lifted her to her feet and studied her face. She smiled lightly. Those grey eyes. How much they had changed her world. Now they _were_ her world. Darren strode to where Mika stood.

"We must leave Mika. Lucinda needs to rest."

The two princes bowed to each other and Mika turned to Lucinda.

"You have a good soul. Be sure to protect it." He nodded and turned back to the fire. Darren led Lucinda out of the house and back to the hotel.

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The small room was filled with silence as Lucinda sat on the bed, her eyes vacant as they stared at the carpet. Darren was bandaging her hand, his own covered with dry blood. He tied a final knot, and lowered her hand to rest in his own.

"I barely know you and now you own me," she whispered.

"No." he wiped a tear from her cheek and smiled.

"No-one will ever own you again."

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**Review? Please and thank you.**


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